ERG International Group, which is delivering a €2.1bn engineering, procurement, construction and financing contract for the 599km high-speed line under construction between Ankara and Izmir in Turkey, has ordered 36,000 tonnes of rail for the project from British Steel.
The steelmaker will supply 60E2 rail which will be delivered in 36m lengths throughout 2026 and follows deliveries in 2025. British Steel says the contract will enable it to introduce 24-hour working at its Scunthorpe site in northern England for the first time in a decade, helping to create 23 new jobs.
British Steel says the “eight-figure agreement” worth “tens of millions of pounds” is supported by UK Export Finance (UKEF). The British government announced in May 2022 a €2.1bn loan guarantee for the high-speed project. Financing is led by Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered Bank and will be guaranteed by UKEF through its Buyer Credit Scheme.
The 250km/h high-speed line will run from the Turkish capital to the port city via Afyonkarahisar, Kütahya, Uşak, and Manisa, and is being built in four phases. It will reduce journey times by more than 10 hours when it is completed in 2027. Construction began in August 2022.
The order follows a contract won by British Steel in 2024 to supply rail for the 286km electrified line under construction between Adana and Gaziantep. Shipments of 60E1 profile rail manufactured to grade R260, weighing 60.2kg/m, were supplied in 36m lengths.
“For this new agreement, we were again able to comply with the demanding technical specifications and the project delivery schedule which we can support with a robust logistics supply chain,” says British Steel’s commercial director - rail, Craig Harvey.
“We are optimistic we can supply other steel products to this project and are working with ERG to support its future needs.”
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